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In the event that Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the striker that each Arsenal fans have been wishing for, then perhaps they will look back on this night as the juncture his luck shifted. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it makes no difference how they hit the back of the net.

After a run of nine matches for his team and national side without a goal and expectations rising on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the offseason, a huge wave of relief swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided in from close range via a deflection off David Hancko during a pulsating second half when Mikel Arteta’s side showed again that they are here to compete this season.

Dramatic Turnaround in Fortune

Within moments and to the joy of the local supporters, his Bane-inspired gesture modeled after the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was repeated once more after bundling over from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to seal the victory against Atlético Madrid. Down on the touchline, Arteta punched the air and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his star striker, of whom he has spent the past two weeks insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“This is football, and we can’t expect a player to switch environments and have him do the same thing instantly,” the Arsenal manager remarked in a conversation with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Circumstances vary greatly. Every footballer globally need one thing: their mental condition to be at its peak. I told Viktor in our initial discussion that the striker I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. If not, you’re not good enough at this standard. That’s why I have a strong confidence in him.”

Early Challenges

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are based in Stockholm’s outskirts, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to develop a thick skin to make it in his selected career. Criticised after a subpar outing by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to make it in elite soccer, he ended up being converted from a winger into a striker after moving to Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I think about it often,” he said recently.

Challenging Spell

Goal-shy since the triumph over Nottingham Forest at home back on 13 September, this has been one of the hardest times of his time in football. Gyökeres was heavily criticised after Sweden were defeated by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the previous 14 days, with one newspaper labeling his display against the latter as “invisible.”

He achieved an astounding 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is evidently not his goal conversion. In line with the coach’s repeated comments, his all‑round play has added a new layer in offense, even if the opportunities have not come to him.

Game Analysis

This was certainly in evidence during the opening period of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had at first appeared evenly matched. There was a sense that Gyökeres was pressing too much to impress as he ran aggressively like a disruptive presence during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that glanced on to the bar inside the opening five minutes was originated from some clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his defender, José María Giménez.

The Uruguayan has the air of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is vastly experienced at this stage compared with Gyökeres, who is playing in only his second Champions League campaign after netting three goals for Sporting against Manchester City last season that must have gone a long way to convincing Arteta to make the move.

Relentless Effort

Yet having drawn comments that he was overweight after missing most of pre-season in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker chased down every ball as if his career hung in the balance. Giménez was drawn into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres collided with him on the edge of the Atlético area having only been stationary. Gabriel Martinelli saw his goal ruled out for offside after tapping in Bukayo Saka’s cross and it only came in the second half that the Swede had his initial opportunity.

A sumptuous flick from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an hesitant shot towards goal. Then it must have appeared that the breakthrough would never come. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the man in the mask made his mark. “Hopefully this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.